Home secretary is to outline a law forcing firms to hand details to police identifying who was using a computer or mobile phone at a given time - all in the name of national security.

This means that internet service providers would have to hold on to data linking devices to users, identifying who has used each Internet Protocol (IP) address.

But campaigners warned it could see the revival of the so-called "snoopers' charter" - a previous attempt to bring in wide-ranging web monitoring powers through the Communications Data Bill which was scraped last April because of a coalition split.

The Conservative MP and former leadership contender David Davis said the new measure was a "stepping stone back" to those proposals.

He said there is a simple question for the home secretary on how police and security services would use the proposed new powers.

"Do you absolutely trust the people doing this never to make a mistake... never to misuse it?" he said.

The questions posed by Mr Davis make good sense.

Similar good sense in what Emma Carr, from privacy campaigners Big Brother Watch, has said: "Before setting her sights on reviving the snooper's charter, the home secretary should address the fact that one of the biggest challenges facing the police is making use of the huge volume of data that is already available, including data from social media and internet companies." 23/11/14

Update 7/6/2016: Investigatory powers bill, described as a “snooper’s charter” by critics, before the commons now, proposes increased powers of the intelligence services.

The snooper’s charter would compel telecoms companies and internet service providers to store every person’s communications data, including records of calls, texts, emails and their entire internet browsing history for a year. The data could be used by dozens of public bodies.

Critics say that it is only justifiable for the government to monitor emails, texts, phone calls and online browsing history if a particular individual is suspected of criminality or has committed a crime.

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